With the introduction of a genuinely centralised structure, Australian Rugby Union is about to go through its biggest structural change since professionalism was introduced a quarter of a century ago. But how could it make things better for players and fans of the sport?
Rugby Australia Chairman Hamish McLennan, with the support of RA CEO Andy Marinos and the board which includes the likes of former Wallabies Daniel Herbert and Phil Waugh, told foxsports.com.au on Monday that the sport is in the final stages of agreeing a new centralised operating model for rugby in Australia.
The new approach will see RA play a key role in the appointments at the five Super Rugby teams including those of head coaches, strength and conditioning coaches and player signings. RA will also have much more involvement in the commercial running and growth of the clubs.
RA believes this will allow them to stop the loss of talent to overseas leagues as well as ensure that key talent is given as much game time as possible by moving them around the clubs and not letting them get stuck on the bench because of head coaches preferring other options.
Fans will immediately think of the players who have been lost to overseas teams or have fallen out with their clubs and missed out on game time. Quade Cooper, Izack Rodda, Will Skelton and Samu Kerevi to name just four, have all headed overseas for varying periods and for different reasons – reasons that the RA are hoping that a centralised approach will help to avoid in the future.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
With the new commercial involvement, RA will also have more control over aspects such as advertising and general club finance. It is hoped that this oversight combined with a reduction in duplication of efforts and costs will allow the sport to rectify its precarious financial position.
In 2020, RA declared a $9.4million loss for the previous year which was then dwarfed in 2021 when they shared that the organisation had made a loss of over $27million in the previous 12 months. McLennan shared that the losses had hit the sport so hard that there had even been conversations about whether returning to being an amateur code was required.
The concept of centralisation has been spoken about for a long time with the examples of the Irish RFU and New Zealand Rugby Union held up as clear evidence that it can be a highly effective model.
When Scott Johnson joined Rugby Australia as Director of Rugby in 2018 he moved the topic to the bottom of the filing cabinet though.
“I don’t think we can as a country be centralised,” said Johnson early in his tenure, but he did make it clear that bringing the Super Rugby sides closer together had a lot of potential benefits. “I do believe we should have an aligned system. I think we have four really good provincial teams, and if we start working and working together, we can be pretty strong and formidable.”
This time though, it looks like McLennan and RA have found a way to get everyone they need on board. Crucially this includes the Super Rugby clubs themselves who historically have always been resistant to such a change.
“For the good of the game, we’re absolutely committed to doing it,” McLennan told Fox Sports on Monday.
Hamish McLennan. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
It seems the harsh past 12 months has been an important catalyst for this change with one RA official, quoted anonymously by Fox Sports about the new sense of openness and alignment between all parties that “There’s nothing hidden. There’s a sense we need to change. We’ve suffered a lot as a code. We’re committed to fixing the problems.”
It is unclear yet how the new model will benefit the lower grades and pathways of the sport. For those on the sidelines of the local field on a Saturday morning or those searching for a way to bridge the gap up to Super Rugby level, there are still plenty of questions that they’d like answered.
Will the new approach mean more funding for all grades of the sport or is it purely focused on the Super Rugby and Wallabies? Will the involvement of the RA in Super Rugby clubs also mean that there will be a more effective national competition connecting the more junior grades with the upper levels of the sport? How will the women’s side of the sport be able to benefit?
But if the predicted financial savings are realised and commercial growth achieved then that’s definitely a positive step forward.
The exact details of the model are still being finalised but with the Super Rugby competition welcoming teams from Fiji and Samoa in 2022 and the suggestion that the new centralised model will be agreed by the end of this year, it looks like the next 12 months are going to be full of excitement for the sport of rugby in Australia.
Micko
Roar Rookie
And THAT is a problem right there Faith; letting the kiwis dictate an unsustainable development war model that just doesn’t work, and leads to a poor comp.
Peter
Roar Rookie
TOTALLY AGREE MICKO. State based Rugby is an anachronism particularly in a country like Australia that has a huge schism between it's football codes. Neither 5 States Super Rugby Competition or a City based tournament like the Hospital Cup or the Shute Shield is good enough. The answer lies somewhere in between and it doesn't lie across the Tasman. I propose a NATIONAL COMPETITION with a national footprint with each major urban centre represented. This will guarantee coverage from all major syndicated media outlets including the National Broadcaster. Key Rugby Heartland's like Brisbane and Sydney would be blessed with the added benefit of derby's for they would feature a minimum of at least two teams located in each city. An Eight to Ten Team national competition IS sustainable if Rugby Australia chooses to place the success of the tournament before that of the Wallaby's. If Australia cannot afford to pay for Samu Kerevi, then DON'T pay him. Let him go ply his trade elsewhere. He will anyway. Rugby cannot rely upon the gate receipts from one or two Wallaby matches a season to sustain future growth. The Top 14 in France and a plethora of other National Competitions is white anting the International Calendar. Cricket Australia had enough perspicacity to recognise the limitations of a state based system when they embraced a city based big bash league. Why cannot Rugby see that the goal posts have shifted. It's time to move on.
jeznez
Roar Guru
He’ll be back in April.
TJ-Go Force!
Roar Rookie
Has Hannigan got one more season in Japan and joining at the back end of SR?
jeznez
Roar Guru
Look forward to seeing him play. Lots of competition with Swinton, Warren-Vosayaco, Harris, Gleeson, Hanigan, Sinclair, Williams and Holloway all able to play 6/8 as well.
TJ-Go Force!
Roar Rookie
He’s a heck of a talent. I would get him in at 8. Hooper and Swinton either side. That’s a back row!
Maximus Insight
Guest
Correct. Australian football is the official name for the sport
Mat P
Guest
"play AFL" Australian Rules Football Aussie Rules AFL is a league, not the sport. You don't play NRL or play A-League. Don't let clever marketing allow them to co-opt the sport. (sorry, just a massive bugbear of mine and many others. )
ScrumJunkie
Guest
It will be the best for 7s and women, they'll ignore them and they will survive while they destroy the 15 man game slowly over a decade of mismanagement.
WEST
Roar Guru
Despite what Aussies believe. Rugby is struggling in NZ.. It’s not what it use to be in NZ, impacts of immigration and a growing diversity is part of the reason why rugby is losing in NZ. It’s to physical for the youth of today, Rugby numbers in secondary schools have dropped over 20% while basketball numbers have increased over 50% also soccer has been getting more and more popular. Immigration has been a major factor in the past 20 years, especially since 2013. We have added about 400,000 to the population. Rugby isn’t popular with majority of these new immigrants, especially in the Asian communities. Consider 40% of the Auckland regional is made up of Asian community, you can start to see why rugby is starting to be phased out.. As the face of NZ changes so does the popularity of sports. Unfortunately NZRU hasn’t really started to address this by putting more energy into grassroots rugby. The numbers of player participation is constantly dropping.
jeznez
Roar Guru
Not sure how much play he’ll get next year TJ. Think he’s one they’ve got in for the future.
Maximus Insight
Guest
If you're defining "centralised sporting league" as a league where head office is determining football department operations and player allocation at the different franchises then, yes, that will necessarily reduce tribalism all else being equal. In a country where you are the smaller fish it is madness. The passionate and dedicated rugby fan will still be engaged and perhaps as much with an eye to the Wallabies. But someone who may even primarily be a rugby fan but also likes the NRL and / or AFL who has the choice between watching to Rugby Australia run franchises playing each-other on a Friday night or the proper AFL and NRL club games on the other channels....what will they choose? Or which game will the go to for that matter? I think it is different for the RA to have central contracts with a national squad and place limits on the number of players at each club, perhaps even a mechanism that creates incentives for clubs to give game time to players in key positions. But the lesson RA and many of its fans fail to learn is that without a club competition that draws interest for its own sake, it is just going to continue to wither
robel
Roar Pro
Mmmmhhh, let's see, Rugby WA thought it was a good idea to let the ARU take over a bunch of seemingly innocuous bureaucratic tasks "for the good of the game" until it was time to stab a team in the back. The WARU still don't have their rights to the name "Perth Spirit" back from RA. The fact this is being pushed by the same clique who hand hands on in the axing of the Force in 2017 just makes it even more ominous.
TJ-Go Force!
Roar Rookie
Jeznez, the biggest signing you should be excited about is Lona Halaholo. He is an absolute beast.
Rhys
Roar Rookie
Exactly, lean and mean are far more economically viable organisations. And easier to see where the money is going.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
Micko I have explained and explained it to you many many times and you are either not grasping the truth or just being deliberately obtuse. I cant be bothered with repeating myself constantly for your benifit when you dont learn. Hopefully you have heard the saying “its madness to keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result” so im not doing this again. Just stop repeating what you know to be untrue
Micko
Roar Rookie
Great evidence Jacko! :thumbup: :laughing:
Jacko
Roar Rookie
See this is soooooooo incorrect. Bye.
Micko
Roar Rookie
NZR was complaining constantly Jacko, and SANZAAR moved to appease them. You’re now re-writing history to suit your pro-NZ narrative. RA didn’t cover themselves with glory over their deceptive conduct with axing the Force, but they never wanted to spend millions establishing WA & Vic based franchise, just to have axe one of them a decade or so later. I’m just enlightening your mate Piru about the wider reality of the massive flaws of SANZAAR & Super Rugby, and why Australia should be running it’s own pro comp designed specifically for Australians, away from the negative influences of NZR, SANZAAR and others.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
All of it. NZ did not force RA to drop a 5th team in 2017 at all. Infact you really need to investigate the reasons and the motivations there Micko plus I think you are mixing up your years as NZ wanted RA to drop to 3-4 teams to enter a new comp after their 2020 rugby review. And you believe NZ told SA to cut a team? They were all SAANZAR decisions micko and thats not NZ so I hope you can see your errors or come up with some proof Micko.